Building the British Manufacturing Industry at Pure London

09-08-2019

A topic that featured heavily in both Pure London keynote talks and during a United Nations panel conversation with Kerry Bannigan from Conscious Fashion Campaign, Pauline Op de Beeck from Carbon Trust, Tamara Cincik from Fashion Roundtable and Melanie Traub of ethical trailblazers People Tree, is that harnessing technology, innovation and science will provide the solutions to the most damaging and problematic issues facing the fashion industry

Returning to traditional skillsets such as sewing and re-building the British manufacturing industry were also touted as critical for achieving genuine sustainability and safeguarding future generations. While discussing his love for clothes, “making stuff” and nurturing British businesses and manufacturers Patrick Grant (pictured below) said: “We need to change the overall mindset of how we produce and consume. Our British factories help sustain the local economies, we know what is made, by who and when. We have super simple stable supply chains.”

Commenting on the UK government’s rejection of all recommendations
made by the Environmental Audit Committee report into fast fashion, Patrick
added that there needed to be stringent regulations to clean up the industry
including stricter labelling. He said: “I don’t think the audit committee went
nearly far enough; I think that everything we buy that’s made of plastic should
be labelled plastic. Because consumers don’t know what polyester or acrylic or
nylon are. Virgin plastics should be labelled. You have a picture of a diseased
lung on the back of a cigarette packet. This stuff is as toxic as nicotine. Bad
fashion is literally killing stuff. If at the point of purchase, you were
presented with something that showed you it, some people just might think
twice.”

During the United Nations panel discussion Pauline Op de Beeck
from Carbon Trust highlighted the necessity for collaboration while championing
businesses who are finding unique solutions to sourcing challenges and making
them open source. “We want all brands to use these innovations, there shouldn’t be a
competitive advantage to it. There are great innovations in recycling, it takes
a lot of research and investment but now we can breakdown previously
unrecyclable material and reuse it.”

While many brands are playing catch up, Brigitte Stepputtis from
Vivienne Westwood showed how successful a brand can be by putting activism,
recycling, upcycling, re-use, natural and sustainable materials at the heart of
business. She said; “We’re not perfect, but we strive to make our clothes with great care,
with heritage, to create a modern and efficient brand which has a relevance to
our time. When some brands do something incredible it helps others to follow.”

Autumn Fair 2019 in September will host talks and workshops from
leaders in sustainability. James George, Business Engagement Manager, Ellen
Macarthur Foundation will talk on the Inspiring Retail Stage on the evolving
nature of the circular economy and what true sustainability looks like. Agnès
Gendry, Head of Buying, Lush Cosmetics will walk visitors through how they work
with suppliers to understand their ethical and sustainable credentials in order
to drive visibility in their supply chain. And David Meller, Responsible
Sourcing Director, NSF International will be running a session called ‘Plastic
Isn’t The Problem’ that will educate buyers on the bigger plastics picture –
whilst single use plastics is a critical issue for consumers, there are other
considerations on the path of achieving true sustainability.

A new international Sourcing zone is also being launched at Autumn
Fair this year. Retailers looking to benefit from markets outside of the UK
will be able to build essential relationships with leading international
exporters and manufacturers at this year’s show. In turn, manufacturers from
key sourcing regions around the world will have the opportunity to exhibit new
products and showcase techniques to the forward-looking retail market. From a
sustainability perspective, this access to international brands can provide
opportunities to assess how transparent a company’s supply chains
are.

Autumn Fair, the season’s number one sourcing destination for home
and gift retail, takes place between 1-4 September at Birmingham’s NEC. Visit www.autumnfair.com

The UK’s leading Festival of Fashion, Pure London takes place at
Olympia London, and the AW20/21 edition will run from 9th –
11th February 2020. Visitwww.purelondon.com